Akari
by YayaSamuko
Summary: "I mean we are both hiding behind a mask and have difficulty expressing who we truly are. I usually spend my free time helping people in need and at other time, I like to guess someone's problem. It's not easy opening up, even harder to have someone open to you."


**Fandom: Kin iro Mosaic & Yuru Yuri**

 **Warning: Contains age gap friendship!**

[-x-x-x-]

Kuzehashi Akari, 25 years-old, was a serious-looking teacher, well-respected by her superiors, coworkers and students alike. She had a stern face and was, most of the time, strict. It was not helped by her rather scary look and her way of dressing up. Despite her attempts to act cool, she always failed miserably, scaring even more students in the process.

" _They are really cute…"_ The young woman thought as she contemplated the female students passing by. She was, as usual, clad in her complete black and white suit, and standing near the main gate to make sure no one went against the school rules.

"Good morning, sensei!" The girls greeted her with a smile and she attempted to smile back but pathetically failed, displaying more of a grimace than anything else, scaring the students off. "P-please excuse us." And with that, they walked faster toward the main building, leaving Akari on her own, a soft sigh escaping her.

" _I did it again…"_

And then she just stood up straight once again, making sure nothing was off about her and continued to greet back the passing by students, trying to not sound too aloof…and failing. Fewer and fewer students arrived as the time moved on. Just a few more minutes and first period will start. She wasn't going to tolerate anyone who gets late.

At five minutes before the start of homeroom, the young brunette sighed one last time as no one else seemed to be coming her way and started walking toward the main building. With her documents already on one hand, she walked toward the class 3-C, the one she was assigned to. She was a mathematics teacher and their homeroom teacher. Despite her early age, she was competent and serious enough to get earlier promotions.

[-x-x-x-]

Akaza Akari, 18 years-old and a third year student, was a cheerful and kind girl. She loved giving a hand and was everything but stoic. Her face could express all kind of emotions such as happiness, confusion and other feelings she has. She was honest and trusting.

One flaw though… she lacked presence. No one could figure why but Akari tends to get easily ignored by other people. Maybe because she had a boring personality or because she was too good for her own self, but she sure lacked presence. When hanging out, her friends tend to forget about her and she usually ends up alone.

Another problem was her bad luck. How unlucky she could be? No clue. She was just the butt monkey of the group and despite that, was still a nice girl, never giving up on helping the others.

" _The sky is so gray today…"_ A sigh escaped Akari's lips as she watched through the nearby glass window. She was seated behind her desk on the farthest row of seat at the 3-C classroom, trying to pay attention to class but somehow felt down because of the weather. _"It looks like it's going to rain but I forgot to bring an umbrella."_

They had mathematic class and the students were either pretending to be listening or just openly sleeping. It was the last class of the day and almost 3:00 PM, meaning end of the school day. The teacher was standing in front of the board, explaining de Moivre's formula but the red-head couldn't bring herself to catch anything she said.

" _So sleepy…"_

Akari remembered that she was busy on the social network the night before to tutor her childhood friend about a formula she didn't understand. Before she realized it, it was already past 11 and she just got to sleep. After walking up and spending a long autumn day, being forgotten by her friends most of the time, she was exhausted.

A yawn has attempted to make its way out of her but she resisted, instead, slightly closing her eyes as to make them rest. Her eyes were burning with fatigue and she wanted to ease them a little. Though, she didn't realize she has accidentally fallen asleep as her left elbow rested on the desk, one cheek in her hand.

[-x-x-x-]

"…za-san… Akaza-san…?"

A pair of violet eye slowly opened at the mention of her name. Her vision was blurry so she rubbed them until she could see clearly that the classroom was already empty except for herself and the person that woke her up. She was fast to realize that it was already dark…and raining outside and a glance at the clock hanging over the board, it was past 6:30 PM, meaning afterschool club activities were over.

"Akaza-san, are you all right?" came the calm voice of Miss Kuzehashi, showing concern despite the strict image she was giving. "Everyone has already left and school will close down in a short while."

"Ah! I am really sorry!" The red-head panicked, quickly gathering her stuff. Being the klutz she was though, she just made more vortex as her pencil and trouser fell on the ground. Standing from her chair, she lost her balance and fell on her bottom. The desk almost crashed upon her but fortunately, the older woman was capable of reacting quickly and grabbed. "Ouch…"

"Akaza-san…" The older Akari asked with concern, pushing the desk aside and kneeling down to help her student. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no. Thank you for your concern." The response came with a forced smile and the girl accepted the offer, gathering her stuffs; pen, eraser, notebook and ID card. She was already major and had her national ID card she treasured very much. Her sister has accompanied her when she made it and so was her driving license. It didn't take her long doing so and she put them in her cute pink winged backpack. "Thank you so much, Kuzehashi-sensei!"

Kuzehashi just nodded as she stood after making sure the younger Akari didn't forget anything. "You'd better leave then. I was going to lock the classroom and saw someone."

The red-head felt very happy at these words. "Really! Akari is very happy in that case." She started before quickly explaining herself. "I mean there were times people don't notice me and end up locking me in some place like the gym storage or a closet once. I am just happy sensei managed to notice me."

Silence fell on the room for a good minute as neither Akari knew what to say. The teacher has taken notice on every girl from her class and the red-head was definitely a rare case. She lacked presence and people tend to forget about her. She even felt guilty for having forgotten about her once. It was back in spring and she has handed printouts to everyone but the young Akaza girl.

The red-head didn't mind that as she just borrowed her neighbor's to copy it on a notebook. Kuzehashi felt like a failure and tried to give more attention to everyone equally, forcing herself to remember all their names and possible useful information.

"U-un… Akaza-san… I…" The brunette started, looking down, her face showing both concern and guilt.

"Thank you for everything!" She was cut by the young Akari's words accompanied by a bright smile. "For even remembering my name. Not that many people did care about me except my sister. I kind of felt down lately and was wondering… If I ever went missing someday, would anyone notice my absence…?"

Another painful silence fell in the room. The red-head was about to say something but the teacher took the occasion to give a piece of her mind. "I don't think so." She said calmly, walking toward the window. "I am sure few people acknowledge who you truly are and want you to stay the way you are. Attempting to hide all these anguish and pain behind a smile… that's very brave. I envy you somehow."

"Sensei…" The student muttered as she watched the suit-clad woman watching as the rain fell. She thought an instant before speaking. "I think we have more common points than we think we have."

Kuzehashi turned to her uniform-clad student with a puzzled face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we are both hiding behind a mask and have difficulty expressing who we truly are. I usually spend my free time helping people in need and at other time, I like to guess someone's problem. It's not easy opening up, even harder to have someone open to you. Yet, I wanted to be of some help so I studied body language and psychology so I could identify a person just because of the way they act."

These words made the teacher silent. She was, once again, at loss for word. She knew she was too strict and had a very hard time expressing. She was too stoic though so nobody could see what lie behind that mask she was wearing… and coming face to face to someone who could see through her was a new experience.

"Kuzehashi-sensei… You want to get closer to the others and want your students to appreciate and not fear you, right?" A shiver ran through the teacher's veins at her student's comment. "I know because we are alike… Alike yet opposite."

The brunette bit her lower lip as she, for the first time since her career at that school, gave a sad smile. "You truly are something, Akaza-san…"

"Akari means guiding light. I am sure that name fits you very well…" The younger girl added as she grabbed her bag. _"Unlike me…"_

"That's not true!" Miss Akaza stopped in her steps and turned to see a tear on her teacher's eye. "That name fits you very well."

" _What? Did I say that aloud?"_

"I might have no superhuman power but I can guess while someone expresses regrets and a lack of confidence. I want to help you with it. It is my duty as a teacher to help and educate my students the right way."

"Sensei…"

No more words were said as the two remained quiet. The young girl sobbed and broke into tears from these comforting words. Kuzehashi walked toward her and extended her arms to give a warm and comforting hug.

The still remained in silence and walked out of the classroom, locking it as they were out. The young Akari has stopped crying but still felt vulnerable. Her newlymade friend held her hand and the two of them walked to the teacher's office—that was empty of any sign of life—and deposited the keys. They then walked toward the shoes locker and changed into their outdoor shoes. As they were ready to leave though, the teacher noticed something.

"You didn't bring an umbrella, right?" The response just came in form of a weak nod. The older Akari smiled at her and took her own umbrella. "Then, we'll share mine. I will walk you home first. It is my duty as a teacher."

And then, she opened the large enough umbrella, capable of fitting two people. They walked under the rain, sheltered by the nylon-fabric made creation and walked ahead, exiting through the main gate, closing it in the process. Everyone else has already left and no one else was around so Kuzehashi didn't let go of her student's hand.

She already knew the girl's address so she walked toward its direction. It might have rained cold but the two of them felt each other's friendly warmth. It was at that moment that the brunette has started to realize the two of them look more alike than they pretends to.

A flashback of herself, trying to act tough despite the wound on her knee and the pouring rain over her, popped in her mind. Middle schoolgirl Kuzehashi Akari had the reputation of cold and cool girl, but she was still human and after forgetting her umbrella and tripping, she fell and got a bleeding knee. No one was around to see her and her watery eyes wanted to give in. That was when someone noticed her. She was Akari's homeroom teacher and a kind woman who loved her job more than anything. She helped the brunette girl and gave her a piggyback ride before walking her home.

The warmth the teacher was feeling now was the same as back then. That woman was the main reason she has decided to become a teacher and she now knows what it feels like to help a student in need.

The older Akari looked up at the gray, pouring sky, a smile on her face. _"Akari, the guiding light, hun…? I really like that name."_

[-x-x-x-]

 **A/N: This will be the first out of a long series of different crossover projects I am planning. The idea just popped in my mind one day as I thought about names and wanted to write crossover about characters with the same name. Hehe!**

 **See you next time!**


End file.
